HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-12-13 Special Common Council Meeting AgendaOFFICIAL NOTICE OF MEETING
A Special meeting of the Common Council will be held on Tuesday, November 12,
2013, at 6:00 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers at City Hall, 108 East Green
Street, Ithaca, New York. Your attendance is requested.
AGENDA
1. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS:
1.1 A Public Hearing to Consider the Mayor’s Proposed Executive Budget for 2014
as approved by the Committee of the Whole
1.2 Discussion of proposed amendments to the Mayor's 2014 Budget
1.3 Adoption of 2014 Budget - Resolution
1.4 Adoption of 2014 Tax Rate - Resolution
1.5 Adoption of 2014 Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant Budget - Resolution
1.6 A Local Law entitled the “City of Ithaca Local Law to Consolidate the Department
of Information Technology In to the Department of the City Clerk.”
1.7 A Local Law Entitled the “City of Ithaca Local Law to Eliminate the Position of
Director of Information Technology.”
2. NEW BUSINESS:
3. ADJOURNMENT:
If you have a disability that will require special arrangements to be made in order for you
to fully participate in the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 274-6570 at least 48
hours before the meeting.
______________________________
Julie Conley Holcomb, CMC
City Clerk
Date: November 7, 2013
1. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS:
1.3 Adoption of 2014 Budget - Resolution
WHEREAS, this Common Council is now considering adoption of the Amended
Executive Budget for 2014 as approved by the Committee of the Whole, and
WHEREAS, it is the consensus of this Common Council that the total appropriations
and estimated revenues, as set forth in said Amended Executive Budget for 2014, and
as those amounts may be altered by action of this Common Council at its November 12,
2013 meeting, are adequate for the operation of the City during 2014; now, therefore be
it
RESOLVED, That this Common Council accepts and approves said Amended
Executive Budget for 2014, together with any additional changes made in said budget at
Council's November 12, 2013 meeting as the City of Ithaca Budget for 2014, in the total
amount of $64,542,735, and be it further
RESOLVED, That the following sections of the 2014 Budget be approved:
A) General Fund Appropriations
B) Water Fund Appropriations
C) Sewer Fund Appropriations
D) Solid Waste Fund Appropriations
E) Sidewalk Special District Fund Appropriations
F) General Fund Revenues
G) Water Fund Revenues
H) Sewer Fund Revenues
I) Solid Waste Fund Revenues
J) Sidewalk Special District Fund Revenue
K) Debt Retirement Schedule
L) Capital Projects
M) Schedule of Salaries and Positions - General Fund
N) Schedule of Salaries and Positions - Water & Sewer Fund
O) Schedule of Salaries and Positions – Sidewalk Special District Fund
P) Schedule of Salaries and Positions - Solid Waste Fund
Q) Authorized Equipment - General Fund
R) Authorized Equipment - Water Fund
R) Authorized Equipment - Sewer Fund
S) Authorized Equipment - Solid Waste Fund
T) Authorized Equipment – Sidewalk Special District Fund Balance
1.4 Adoption of 2014 Tax Rate – Resolution
WHEREAS, the 2014 City of Ithaca Budget was approved, adopted, and confirmed in the total
amount of $64,542,735 on November 12, 2013, in accordance with a detailed Budget on file in
the Office of the City Controller, and
WHEREAS, available and estimated revenues total $44,022,631 leaving $20,520,104 as the
amount to be raised by taxation, and
WHEREAS, the Assessment Roll for 2014 certified and filed by the Assessment Department of
Tompkins County, has been footed and approved and shows the total net taxable valuation as
$1,564,032,345 and
WHEREAS, under Charter provisions, the tax limit for City purposes amounts to $30,344,794 for
2014; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the tax rate for general purposes, for the fiscal year 2014, be, and the same
hereby is, established and fixed at $13.12 per $1,000 of taxable valuation as shown, certified
and extended against the respective properties on the 2014, Tax Roll, thereby making a total
tax levy, as near as may be, of $20,520,104, and be it further
RESOLVED, That the amount of said tax levy be spread, and the same hereby is levied upon
and against the respective properties as shown on said City Tax Roll, in accordance with their
respective net taxable valuation, at the rate of $13.12 per $1,000 of such taxable valuation, and
be it further
RESOLVED, That the City Chamberlain be, and hereby is, directed to extend and apportion the
City Tax as above, and that upon the completion of the extension of said Roll, the City Clerk
shall prepare a warrant on the City Chamberlain for the collection of said levy; and the Mayor
and the City Clerk hereby are authorized and directed to sign and affix the corporate seal to
such warrant and forthwith to file the same with said Tax Roll with the City Chamberlain, and be
it further
RESOLVED, That upon the execution and filing of said warrant and Tax Roll with the City
Chamberlain, the amounts of the City Tax set opposite each and every property shall hereby
become liens, due, payable and collectible in accordance with provisions of the City Charter and
other laws applicable thereto, and be it further
RESOLVED, That the total sum of $64,542,735 be appropriated in accordance with the adopted
Budget to the respective Boards, Offices, and Departments of the City, for the purposes
respectively set forth therein. The 2014 Assessment Roll has been completed and approved by
the Assessment Department of Tompkins County and resulted in the following valuation:
Total Value of Real Property $3,989,560,804
Less: Value of Exempt Property $2,451,911,000
$1,537,649,804
Plus: Value of Special Franchises $26,382,541
Net Value of Taxable Property $1,564,032,345
1.5 Adoption of 2014 Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant Budget -
Resolution
WHEREAS, this Common Council is now considering adoption of the Amended Joint
Activity Fund Budget for 2014 as approved by the Committee of the Whole, and
WHEREAS, it is the consensus of this Common Council that the total appropriations
and estimated revenues, as set forth in said Amended Joint Activity Fund Budget for
2014 and as those amounts may be altered by action of the Common Council at its
November 12, 2013 meeting, are adequate for the operation of the Ithaca Area
Wastewater Treatment Plant during 2014; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Common Council accepts and approves said Amended Joint
Activity Fund Budget for 2014, together with any additional changes made in said
budget at Council’s November 12, 2013 meeting, as the Ithaca Area Wastewater
Treatment Plant Joint Activity Fund Budget for 2014, in the total amount of $3,831,462,
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the following sections of the 2014 Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment
Plant Joint Activity Fund Budget be approved:
A) Joint Activity Fund Appropriations
B) Joint Activity Fund Revenues
C) Schedule of Salaries and Positions – Joint Activity Fund
D) Authorized Equipment – Joint Activity Fund
1.6 A Local Law entitled the “City of Ithaca Local Law to Consolidate the
Department of Information Technology Into the Department of the City Clerk.”
Local Law No. 6 - 2013
WHEREAS, the intent of the following legislation is to reduce the costs and increase the
efficiency of the City’s government in light of record budget deficits, and
WHEREAS, New York State has granted to the City the power to organize its own
government and the departments therein as the City deems necessary, and
WHEREAS, the Common Council has determined that certain operations of the City’s
government could efficiently be consolidated and overseen by a single department head
rather than by multiple separate departments, and
WHEREAS, the Department of Information Technology only came into existence late in
the City’s long history, and at a time that technology was distinct from the information
generated and stored by that technology, and
WHEREAS, today information and the technology on which it is generated and stored
have so far converged as to be virtually indistinguishable in many situations, and
WHEREAS, the Department of the City Clerk has long been the repository for the
storage and retrieval of information vital to the City, and is well equipped, with the
assistance of appropriate staff of the Department of Information Technology, to handle
the informational affairs of the City both as a matter of technology and substance,
BE IT ENACTED BY the Common Council of the City of Ithaca as follows:
Section 1. Legislative Intent and Purpose.
The Common Council of the City of Ithaca determines that it is in the interest of the
public welfare to consolidate the Department of Information Technology into the
Department of the City Clerk, thus forming the Department of Public Information and
Technology. In the resulting Department, the Director of Information Technology and all
appropriate staff of the former Department of Information Technology shall hereafter
report to the City Clerk as members of the Department of Public Information and
Technology. Subject only to the requirement that the position of Director of Information
Technology report to the City Clerk, the Director of Information Technology shall retain
all powers, duties, and functions otherwise possessed by the Director of Information
Technology unless explicitly altered herein. The intent and purpose of this local law is
compatible with a subsequent elimination from the Charter of the position of Director of
Information Technology via separate local law, if any.
Section 2. Appointive Officers Not Serving In Their Respective Department.
The text of Section C-5(C)(4), a subsection of “Elective and Appointive Officers”, as
currently contained in the Ithaca City Charter, and last ratified by Local Laws Nos. 3 and
4 of 2012, is hereby repealed and replaced with the following text:
(a) Officers who serve as the heads of their respective departments, and who are
appointed by the Mayor with the approval of Common Council: City Clerk, Controller,
Director of Human Resources[, Director of Information Technology], Director of Planning
and Development, Fire Chief, Greater Ithaca Activities Center Director, Police Chief,
Superintendent of Public Works, Youth Bureau Director.
(b) Officers who are appointed by the Mayor with the approval of Common Council to a
specific department: City Chamberlain as appointed to the Office of the City Controller;
Building Commissioner as appointed to the Department of Planning, Building, and
Development; Director of Information Technology as appointed to the Department
of Public Information and Technology.
Section 3. Consolidated Department of Public Information and Technology.
A. There shall be a Department of [the City Clerk] Public Information and
Technology, the head of which shall be the City Clerk.
B. The City Clerk shall:
(1) Perform the functions and discharge the powers and duties of the City Clerk
pursuant to law.
(2) Act as Clerk for the Board of Public Works and the Common Council and keep a
journal of their proceedings and a record of the minutes of every meeting. The minutes
of each meeting shall be signed by the officer presiding at such meeting and by the
Clerk.
(3) Keep and maintain the original authenticated copies of all resolutions, ordinances
and local laws. At the close of each year, the Clerk, with the advice and assistance of
the City Attorney, shall compile or codify and bind all local laws, ordinances and
resolutions, or true copies thereof, in books to be provided for that purpose. The City
Clerk shall properly index such books, compilation or codification. The record so made,
or a copy thereof, duly certified by the City Clerk, shall be presumptive evidence in all
courts and places and in all actions and proceedings of the due and proper passage
and publication of any such local law, ordinance or resolution.
(4) Issue licenses and permits authorized to be issued by the City Clerk under authority
of the Council or by a City Clerk pursuant to law.
(5) Manage and execute all information technology functions of the City
Government, including systems of written and spoken communication, archiving
and retrieval, and all software and hardware components necessary thereto.
(6[5]) Organize the work of the Department of Public Information and Technology[the
City Clerk]. The City Clerk may assign and transfer administrative functions, powers and
duties within the Department of Public Information and Technology[office of the City
Clerk] as the best interest of the City may appear, subject to the Charter, local law or
ordinance.
(7[6]) Have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by the Charter, local
law or ordinance.
Section 4. Effect of Related Local Laws. This local law, including the replacement text
provided in Section 2 hereof, shall be read in concert with, and solely to the extent in
conflict with, shall be superseded by, one or more local laws that become operative
after this local law is adopted, including but not limited to any City of Ithaca Local Law to
Eliminate the Position of Director of Information Technology.
Section 5. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this
local law shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such
judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be
confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part thereof
directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
Section 6. Effective Date. This Local Law shall take effect on January 1, 2014 after
filing in the office of the Secretary of State.
1.7 A Local Law Entitled the “City of Ithaca Local Law to Eliminate the Position of
Director of Information Technology.”
Local Law No. 7 - 2013
WHEREAS, New York State has granted to the City the power to organize its own government
and departments therein as the City deems necessary, and
WHEREAS, the City continues to run a budgetary deficit, and to search for ways to reduce costs
while minimizing the effect on the services provided to the public if possible, and
WHEREAS, the Director of Information Technology position was created as a forty-hour per
week position in the year 1999 and filled in 2000, and
WHEREAS, the budget for Fiscal Year 2013 reduced the Director of Information Technology
position to a thirty-two hour per week position with a concomitant reduction in salary, and there
was no impairment in the City’s information technology systems or functions, and
WHEREAS, the Common Council has adopted a budget for Fiscal Year 2014 that eliminates
funding for the Director of Information Technology position, and
WHEREAS, the Common Council has approved prior to the approval of this Local Law a
separate Local Law enacting the consolidation of the Department of Information Technology into
the Department of the City Clerk, thus forming the Department of Public Information and
Technology, and
WHEREAS, employees in the Department of Information Technology and Department of the
City Clerk are well-equipped to handle as necessary the duties currently performed by the
Director of Information Technology,
BE IT ENACTED by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca as follows:
Section 1. Legislative Findings, Intent, and Purpose.
Despite the City’s continuing efforts to increase efficiency and reduce spending, the City
Controller projects that the 2014 Fiscal Year budget will run at a $1.4 million deficit. Minimizing
the need for increasing taxes requires that the City continue to carefully and critically review the
services it provides, and the manner in which the services are provided. As part of this process,
and after a review of the duties assigned to the Director of Information Technology, in Fiscal
Year 2013 the City reduced the hours of that position to thirty-two (32) per week, with a
corresponding decrease in compensation. In addition, certain functions were relocated from
Information Technology into the Department of the City Clerk.
After reviewing the performance of the departments during Fiscal Year 2013, and further
considering the responsibilities and duties assigned to the Director of Information Technology
position, the Common Council has approved a budget for Fiscal Year 2014 that eliminates
funding for the position. Further, the Common Council determines that, for reasons of economy,
consolidation or abolition of functions, and curtailment of activities, it is in the interest of the
public welfare to eliminate the Director of Information Technology position. To the extent that the
duties currently assigned to that position are still needed, the remaining Information Technology
and City Clerk’s Office employees are capable of discharging such duties.
Accordingly, it is the desire of the Common Council that the position of the Director of
Information Technology cease to exist, and all powers, duties, and functions otherwise
possessed by the Director of Information Technology shall be transferred or eliminated by the
Mayor, Director of Human Resources, City Clerk, and Civil Service Commission as appropriate.
Section 2. Appointive Officers Not Serving In Their Respective Department.
The text of Section C-5(C)(4)(b) in the Ithaca City Charter, a subsection of “Elective and
Appointive Officers”, as to be amended upon the adoption and effectiveness of Local Law No. 6
of 2013 entitled “City of Ithaca Local Law to Consolidate Department of Information Technology
Into the Department of the City Clerk” is hereby further amended as follows, superseding said
Local Law to the extent set out in Section 3 hereof:
(b) Officers who are appointed by the Mayor with the approval of Common Council to a specific
department: City Chamberlain as appointed to the Office of the City Controller; Building
Commissioner as appointed to the Department of Planning, Building, and Development; Director
of Information Technology as appointed to the Department of Public Information and
Technology.
Section 3. Effect of Related Local Laws. Section 2 of this local law shall supersede any
provision amending Section C-5(C)(4)(b) of any local law adopted prior to this local law
becoming operative, to the extent that such provision is in conflict with Section 2. In all other
respects, this local law shall to the extent possible be read in concert with any such local law. A
City of Ithaca Local Law to Consolidate the Department of Information Technology Into the
Department of the City Clerk is such a local law.
Section 4. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this Local Law
shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not
affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation to the
clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in
which such judgment shall have been rendered.
Section 5. Mandatory Referendum and Effective Date. This Local Law shall be submitted to a
referendum at the next feasible general election. This Local Law shall take effect after it is
approved by the electorate and is subsequently filed in the office of the Secretary of State.